MST3K 501 - Warrior of the Lost World
The Movie Synopsis In a post-apocalyptic, yet oddly lush and verdant future, the Earth, or at least one nearly deserted but perfectly maintained rural highway, is ruled by the tyrannical organization "The Omega", headed by one Prossor (Donald Pleasence). Prossor is an amalgam of doctors No, Evil and Strangelove. The Omega is an Orwellian outfit that plays hypnotic mind-control messages over the public address system at airports. It is resisted by a group known as "The Outsiders" that seems to consist of three people and meets exclusively in a rock quarry, led by "Professor" McWayne (toothy Harrison Muller) and advised by a levitating, flashlight-bearing faction of superannuated toga-clad mystic healers. McWayne has been captured by the Omega. The Outsiders must rescue him before he is executed. When a sullen, unshaven, malodorous, whiny, frequently unintelligible and uniformly unappealing leather-jacketed anti-hero (the "Paper Chase" Guy) and his talking, rocket-assisted, missile-launching doofus "supersonic speed cycle" "Einstein" (played by a screen saver) appear on the scene, McWayne's daughter, the not-unattractive Nastasia (the late Persis Khambatta) and commanding Henchman (Fred Williamson) must persuade him to help them rescue their leader. When pallid appeals to his better nature fail to sway him, Nastasia smilingly threatens the PCG with summary execution. He agrees to help. Nastasia and the PCG infiltrate the public execution of McWayne. The two of them, under the watchful eyes of scores of jack-booted Omega storm troopers toting automatic weapons and stationed at every possible vantage point in the area, and assisted by plenty of flatulent analog-synthesizer-generated simulated gunfire foley, manage to grab McWayne and get him to a conveniently available escape helicopter - which PCG knows how to fly. How do they do it, you ask? The five-foot-two-inch, 98-lb Nastasia simply reaches out and yanks a gun away from one of the six-foot tall two hundred pound guards, then she and PCG mow down a few of the rest, avoiding getting hit in the hailstorm of lead. Out of the tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition fired at her, a lone bullet finally strikes Nastasia in the gel pack (knee). She doesn't make it back out, and Prosser immediately begins programming her to be his "mind slave". McWayne immediately starts to assemble a rescue mission. To garner additional forces from the outlaw gangs in the area, he has the PCG engage in a public display of comedic stage-fighting with two dozen or so who are apparently on break from a Fellini movie being filmed nearby. By fighting dirty and absorbing plenty of simulated physical abuse with beery elan, the PCG implausibly gains their near-instantaneous admiration and allegiance. A three-pronged attack on The Omega is begun. The PCG leads the "Thunderdome*"-inspired motorized forces down the Omega-patrolled highway with air support supplied by Henchman to ultimately do mano-a-mano battle with "Megaweapon", a lethargic dump truck festooned with an "Omega" logo, some bumper-mounted spikes and an asthmatic flame-thrower. Elsewhere, freshly bathed gang members posing as Omega employees cleverly smuggle automatic weapons into the Omega "dairy" (they put them in a briefcase) and attack from inside, while outlaw gang ninjas and people with old military uniforms scale the unguarded back stairs into the Omega HQ. Will Nastasia be snatched from doom before she is forever warped by the sadistic Prossor? If so, will she and the PCG do "the nasty"? And... are Prossor and Henchman really what they seem to be? * Can't we get beyond "Thunderdome"? Information *In 1998 Persis Khambatta died of a heart attack. She was only 47 years old. *Director David Worth claims he was hired, sent to Italy, and told to begin work on the film . . . before he ever even had a script. He was simply shown a ballyhoo poster and told to make a film that would go with it. The Episode Host Segments Prologue: Servo gets to do the formal welcome speech on behalf of the Satellite of Love crew, but Crow is bound and determined to ruin it. Segment One (Invention Exchange): The Mads have created the Square Master, a special excercise mat which maximizes potential; Joel and the Bots have Bittersweet Hearts, candy hearts (which also function as easy-to-chew antacids) for adults. They feature phrases that can be difficult to communicate, like "Get Out", "You’ll Do", "Like A Brother" and "It’s Blue". Segment Two: Joel turns Crow and Servo into a giant slot car set. Crow rules the road, but Servo has some major design flaws. Segment Three: In a Steve Allen-inspired sketch, we see what the apocalypse would be like if the Warrior of the Lost World hadn't got his driving permit yet and was forced to save the world in the back of his mom's station wagon. Segment Four: Joel and the Bots discuss what outrageous things they'd do after the apocalypse. Segment Five: The Bots lament the loss of Megaweapon, but a phone call from their hero puts them at ease. Joel reads a letter from a couple of kids whose dad "claims to have paid ‘good’ money to have seen many of the movies you ‘rip’ on." The Mads enjoy an active lifestyle thanks to the Square Master. Stinger: ''' The Paper Chase Guy checks out Persis Khambatta. Other Notes '''Guest Stars *''Megaweapon (voice): Michael J. Nelson Trivia *Despite being produced as the first episode of the season, ''Hercules was actually shown first. Video Release *Commerically released on DVD by Shout Factory in December 2009. It was released under the title of Volume 16 along with the episodes The Corpse Vanishes,Santa Claus, and Night of the Blood Beast Obscure References *''"Music by Hawkwind!"'' Hawkwind is a British progressive rock band. *''"Tom Cruise! Days of Thunder!"'' Days of Thunder was a 1990 movie in which Cruise starred as a NASCAR driver. *''"The High Plains Loser!"'' High Plains Drifter is a 1973 Western film starring Clint Eastwood. *''"Hey, where you goin'?" "Nowhere in particular." "Man, I wish I was you."'' A snippet of dialogue from Then Came Bronson, a very short-lived TV series from 1969-1970. *''"Watch out for the squibs!"'' A squib is a type of explosive charge used to simulate gunshots in movies. *''"Mr. Busey, look out-"'' Actor Gary Busey suffered severe head injuries in a motorcycle accident in the late 1980s. *''"And now, Edie Sedgwick goes on the road!"'' Edie Sedgwick, who appeared in several films directed by Andy Warhol, was severely burned in 1966 after falling asleep with a lit cigarette. *''"Oh, no- cops!"'' Joel is imitating the Simpsons character Snake. *''"Retsyn?"'' "Retsyn" was an ingredient mentioned in advertisements for Certs during the 1990s. *''"Stiv Bators?!"'' Stiv Bators was the lead singer of the punk band The Dead Boys. *''"Richard Hell?!"'' Richard Hell was also a punk pioneer. *''"Coma, coma, coma, coma, coma Caligula!"'' A parody of the Culture Club song "Karma Chameleon". *''"It's Bicycle Repairman!"'' "Bicycle Repairman" was a sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus about a town where everyone dressed like Superman and the local superhero was a bicycle repairman. *''"...and the new movie by Louis Malle."'' Louis Malle was a French film director. *''"Sure, we all do!"'' A quote from Christian Children's Fund commercials featuring Sally Struthers. *''"Was the prop man Jim Stafford?"'' "I really don't like spiders and snakes!" Country singer/actor Jim Stafford (who also appeared in Riding with Death) recorded the novelty song "Spiders and Snakes" in the mid-1970s. *''"We're a rocker arm assembly, and we don't like dirt!"'' Taken from the lyrics to the Mobil gas "Rocker Arm Assembly" song. *''"It's no party." "It's no disco."'' A play on the Talking Heads song "Life During Wartime". *''"I'm the guy with the snake on my face!"'' Quoted from Harry, a character played by John Candy on SCTV. *''"This is like a really weird production of 'The Bacchae'."'' The Bacchae is a Greek tragedy about the god Dionysus. *''"Now they're in Cabrini Green!"'' Cabrini Green was a now-demolished public housing project in Chicago. *''"It's the Forbin Project!"'' A reference to the 1970 sci-fi movie Colossus: The Forbin Project. *''"This is starting to look more and more like an Obsession ad."'' A reference to commercials for Calvin Klein's fragrance Obsession, which were frequently mocked for their art film-like pretentiousness. *''"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life."'' From the spoken-word intro to the Prince song "Let's Go Crazy". *''"Jimmy Carter: Missing in Action!"'' Missing in Action was a 1984 action movie starring Chuck Norris. *''"Jimmy Carter IS The Enforcer!"'' The Enforcer, released in 1976, was the third film in the Dirty Harry series. * "Kill da wabbit..." A line sung by Elmer Fudd in the 1957 cartoon What's Opera, Doc?. *''"Looks kinda like 'Any Which Way But Loose'." "Or 'Any Which Way You Can'."'' A reference to Every Which Way But Loose and its sequel Any Which Way You Can, two comedy films starring Clint Eastwood. At the end of Every Which Way But Loose Eastwood fights another man in a sequence shot with similarly jerky hand-held camera cinematography. *''"Don't you have to get to the 'Under the Rainbow' set?"'' Under the Rainbow was a 1981 movie that involved Munchkin auditions for The Wizard of Oz. *''"He's beating up Julian Bond!"'' Julian Bond is a veteran civil-rights activists who has served as chairman of the NAACP since 1998. *''"Cleopatra Jones!"'' Cleopatra Jones was a 1973 blaxploitation movie. *''"Got some Divine on me!"'' A comment on an extra's resemblance to the late female impersonator Divine. *''"Here at DeVry Institute..."'' DeVry University, formerly known as the DeVry Institute, is a nationwide chain of adult-education centers. *''"Oh sick, he's turning her into Charlie Callas!"'' Charlie Callas was a popular comedian during the 1970s, and was known for nervously chattering and making odd noises as part of his act. *''"That guy's buying lunch at the Automat."'' The Automat was a type of self-service restaurant that was popular during the first half of the 20th century. *''"Benazir Bhutto!"'' Benazir Bhutto was the first female prime minister of Pakistan. *''"My friends call me Tania!"'' "Tania" was the name Patty Hearst was given by the Symbionese Liberation Army. *''Shot Your Father, I did'' Callback to Mr. B Natural. "Knew your father, I did," is one of many creepy lines uttered by Mr. B. *''"Sprockets!"'' "Sprockets" was a Saturday Night Live sketch in which Mike Myers played an eccentric German talk show host. *''"Have you ever worked with Killdozer?"'' Killdozer is a short story by Theodore Sturgeon about a bulldozer that develops a violent mind of its own. In 1974, it was adapted as a made-for-TV movie. *''"Oh, man, he's just been shot by the Split Enz!"'' Split Enz were a pop/new-wave band from New Zealand, perhaps best known in the USA for their song/video I Got You. The band wore colorful goofy outfits, and 'artsy' hair and makeup. Lead singer Tim Finn is also mentioned in passing in The She-Creature. *''"That Girl forever. Marlo! Marlo! Oh Donald!"'' That Girl was a 1960s sitcom starring Marlo Thomas, she frequently exclaimed "Oh Donald!". Category:MST3K Episodes Category:Season 5 Category:Dystopian Film